PBS
Inventions
Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...
Curated OER
Inventions
Students study invention steps and design their own invention. In this invention lesson, students discuss inventions and the process of inventing. Studnets write in an inventor's journal and study various types of inventions....
National Woman's History Museum
Inventive Women - Part 1
While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...
Curated OER
Patenting My Invention
Fifth graders learn the importance of a patent for a new invention. They use the internet to practice typing a classroom patent for a compound machine that their class invented. While on the website, 5th graders choose a month and...
Curated OER
Learning About Inventions
This site contains a variety of worksheets and activities to supplement the on-line problem-based learning activity about how imagination and how inventions are created. TheWright Brothers are used as a case study. The links and...
Curated OER
Innovation for Good
Many historical innovations were created for the common good. Get your students ready for life as a critical thinker with this lesson plan which defines the differences between innovation and invention. They will conduct Internet...
American Institute of Physics
African American Inventors in History
A two-part activity introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of their...
Curated OER
Thomas Edison: The "Invention Process"
Students work in collaborative groups to research the inventive process and create a technological advancement for today.
History Alive!
Thomas Edison: Inventor, Lecturer and Prankster
It's no small wonder that a lightbulb has come to represent a bright idea. The light bulb, the bright idea of Thomas Edison, was just one of his over 1,000 inventions. A teacher's guide introduces young audiences to works of the man who...
Scholastic
It's a Whatchamacallit
Learners formulate new applications for simple machines in an original invention that solves a common problem. They brainstorm ideas for a new product using simple machines and communicate a finished project through an oral,...
Curated OER
Invention of the radio
Eighth graders study the radio and where it came from. In this American History lesson, 8th graders explore the history of the radio. Students create an invention that will be useful to them today.
Curated OER
History of the Telephone, Radio, and Light Bulb
Students research and discuss the history of the telephone, radio, and light bulb. In this invention history lesson, students access Internet sites to explore the inventors and the invention of the telephone, the radio, and the light...
Curated OER
Invention/Innovation/Creative Thinking/Opportunities/Ideas
Students, while examining inventions and innovators, identify, differentiate and discuss five Canadian inventors/innovations. After applying creative thinking strategies to a promotional piece, students brainstorm patents.
Curated OER
The Invention of the Telephone
Learners study the history of the telephone and its inventor. In this communications lesson students complete a tuning fork experiment to further demonstrate how sound is produced.
Curated OER
Imaginative Minds
Eighth graders study the lives and creations of several significant inventors as well as designing their own invention and submitting it to a mock patent process. They determine the importance of notable inventions and their impact on...
Curated OER
Economics Lesson: The Real McCoy
Students research the origination of the expression "The Real McCoy." In this economics research lesson plan, students read the book The Real McCoy. Students examine Elijah McCoy and his invention of the oil cup and how it relates to the...
Curated OER
the Business of Good Ideas
Students consider economic factors in patenting a new invention. They research an already-patented health product and assess its profitability.
Curated OER
Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
Students discuss the invention of barbed wire and how it affected various groups of peoples in the U.S. after its invention.
Curated OER
Alexander Graham Bell's Patent for the Telephone and Thomas Edison's Patent for the Electric Lamp
Students read a short biographical account about Bell and student B about Edison. Ask each pair to exchange information and determine what qualities these inventors shared. Ask students if they think all inventors share these qualities.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Stop and Go
It's "Green light, go!" with this lesson plan! STEM classes are illuminated with the history of traffic signals and how the engineering design has improved over time. They also learn about patents for new inventions. Finally, they...
Curated OER
What Can You Make of It?
Students investigate the various uses of a paper cup. In this scientific inquiry lesson, students investigate various ways to use a paper cup by identifying its characteristics. Students sketch their discovery.
Curated OER
Thomas Edison on Trial
Students learn about Thomas Edison and his invention laboratory/factory and the concept that he might not have given enough credit to the employees who invented for him. They hold a trial to determine guilt or innocence as a outcome.
Curated OER
History In the House
Students analyze primary sources. In this historical analysis activity, students will closely examine the household objects that most impact their lives. Students will use research, analysis, and class discussion to draw parallels...
Curated OER
Clever Contraptions
Students appraise the qualities of successful inventors and inventions, as well as examine the ways in which the Internet supports inventors, as a springboard for designing and 'patenting' inventions that would be helpful to them in...